Whether you celebrate Ostara, Easter or Both – colorful eggs are definitely a sign of the season.

Since our family consists of not only Pagans, but Christians as well, we have decided to celebrate the Ostara Egg festivities on the first Sunday following the first Full Moon after Ostara – which just so happens to be the same day Christian’s celebrate Easter Sunday. This way all of our family can celebrate together. Since I know many Pagans who celebrate as we do, I thought now would be a great time to share a few egg coloring favorites.

EGGS – EGGS – EGGS: Part 1 – Coloring

Look for Part 2 – Crystal Eggs, later this week.

A Few Famulare Egg Coloring Favorites

I regret to say that although I had planned to photograph a few of these techniques in progress and complete, the sicky-bugs have invaded my family again, and we have just not been physically up for it. I apologize, and I will do my best to try and post a few pictures on facebook after our Ostara ritual later this month.

Natural Egg Dying

Every year for the past few years, my family looks for the best method to naturally dye our eggs. There are so many websites out there, with so many different ways to do this. The key is – patience! Natural dyes are not the quick fix you’ll find with Paas Egg Dying kits. They take time! The longer your eggs stay in the dyes – the brighter they will be.

There are essentially 2 ways to go about dying your eggs.

1. Boil your RAW eggs in the dye materials as they boil.

I like this method a lot, in theory – so much more efficient, but I’ll admit, we haven’t tried it yet, this year will be our first attempt.

We have had very good luck with this method – but it does require making room in your refrigerator for bowls of dye, and you do have to be careful not to dye your good dishes. We did that once – WHOOPS!

About.com has a very useful dye chart that I have personally found very helpful in creating our natural egg dye concoctions, and I definitely recommend you take a look.

We have personally tried – and liked the results – using:

Onion Skins: Yellow, Red and Purple

Grape Juice

Beets

Purple Cabbage (although we prefer the blue result from using Blueberries)

Turmeric, and

My favorite is the Mossy Green effect we got from using Red Bush Tea!

I have had absolutely no luck with:

Orange Peel or Spinach, Wine or Paprika.

And I can’t wait to try:

Raspberries this year! I have heard other crafters enjoying beautiful red results.

Some Fun Ways to Spice Them Up

For a mottled effect – add a small amount of cooking oil to your dye and stir before soaking your eggs

For a two-toned look – dip one side of your egg in paraffin wax before soaking, when dry removing the wax will reveal the white or previously dyed base shade of your egg while the unwaxed side will take on the new color

For resist designs – use a crayon to draw your designs before soaking

For a glitter or crystal effect – add a tsp of liquid glue to a cup of cold water, stir, dip your egg then sprinkle with glitter, sprinkles or fine sugar

EGG PAINTING

Okay – I hate to say it, but this one is really self-explanatory. Using a few acrylic paints and a small paintbrush you can create all kinds of fabulous designs on your dyed, hardboiled or raw eggs. But have you ever tried painting your eggs the CTMH way???

First – Please know this is just a theory, I have not yet tried this on actual eggs! However I have used this method to “splatter” paint other objects and have been VERY happy with the results, I can’t see why it would be any different for eggs, so with that in mind…

This year I’m going to experiment with misting my eggs using CTMH’s new Spray Pen! Here’s the Plan…

Seva Circle is about Selfless Work and Community – so naturally, I don’t want to talk about me…

Blogs are a funny thing – especially “how to” blogs and “product” blogs like these. Early on, it’s really hard to know if you are reaching people – and as many of you know, comments and subscriber count really are very unreliable as indicators.

My hit counter says you are out there, that YOU are reading my posts… but who are you?

I’d really like to know. So, this week I want to dedicate Seva Circle to getting to know you – my readers. Even if I there is just one of you out there, I want to know you.

So please – speak up…

Introduce yourself,

Tell us why you visit this site or what you hope to find here, and

If you have your own blog – post a link to it here in the comments section so we can find you.

You may have noticed that I’m REALLY pushing Paper Flowers lately – I am! But there is a reason for that…

Why Paper Flowers?

Easter and Beltane are almost here, and I have a great family friendly project in the works – but it requires paper flowers. There are so many to choose from that I can’t possibly fit them all in one post, so I’m bringing them to you a few at a time…

For any of the products mentioned in this article, please visit my CTMH papercrafts store. And if you do decide to try any of the techniques shown on this site – please share! I look forward to seeing your projects.

About Studio J®

Studio J® is such an incredible option – online scrapbook that is easy to use, saves time, and produces a high quality TANGIBLE scrapbooking page that will last lifetimes.

The layout above I made tonight, in less than 30 minutes – I am seriously technically challenged, a ridiculous perfectionist and my traditional layouts take me HOURS to complete. Not to mention that they cost me a small fortune in papers and embellishments because I do tend to go overboard. Studio J® saves me time, money, and allows me to share instantly with my family over the internet.

I love Studio J® so much that I want you to try it too. So – I’ve created this weeklyStudio J® Challenge, exclusively for my readers. Each challenge will include a tip, technique or tutorial to help you better understand Studio J® and improve your artwork. You will have the opportunity to network and bring traffic to your blog, because we will ALL want to see your work; and best of all – you can win great prizes! Check out our new page for details.

Now on to the First Challenge:

Since Studio J is a new concept for many of you, I thought I’d make this first challenge, an easy one.

The challenge is simple:

Watch the following Tutorial.

Sign Up – and

Create your first layout in Studio J® – literally Anything Goes!

Once you have your JPEG, upload it to your blog or facebook, and post a link directly to your layout in the comments section of this post, before 10:59 pm (PST) on Saturday, April 9th.

How Do I Win?

The TOP 3 picks will be showcased on my blog by Noon (PST) – Sunday, April 10th.

If your layout is selected in the Top 3, you will automatically be entered into the Grand Prize drawing at the end of the month.

Embellishments & Studio J

One of the things I love most about Studio J custom prints is how easy it is to add dimension and life with just a few simple embellishments. Clear sparkles and Opaques adhesive gems are my favorites to use because they are so easy to use – just peel-and-stick. It takes just seconds to transform a simple print into a fully-embellished scrapbook page.

Now you can create you own embellished studio layouts with FREE accessories during the month of April.

The Details:

The best part is, there is no limit! You get 2 packages of FREE accessories for every 10 layouts you purchase. So if you order 30 layouts, you get 6 packages of accessories (3 of each) FREE!

The Fine Print:

You must be a Studio J member to qualify; but seriously, if you are not a member already – what are you waiting for? Studio J members get a 50% discount on all layouts, FREE jpeg images, FREE page protectors and FREE shipping! Check out my Studio J Memberships page for details.

And don’t forget, during the month of April a $100 US/$115 CAN order qualifies you for a FREE Level 1 Kit and the April Stamp of the Month FREE – all together that’s a $32.90 value. If you order your membership through my MyCTMH website, the cost of your membership will be included in your qualifying order! You can read the details here.

Beginners love that the basic page is already done—they just drop in their photos and add a few easy embellishments.

Experienced scrapbookers love how fast and easy it is to catch up on their pages with these nearly-done preprinted layouts.

Children also love Level 1 Kits because they are so fun and easy to use!

And now you can get yours FREE!!!

The Details:

From now until April 30th – 10:59 PM (PST), when you place an order of $100 US/$115 CAN or more through my MyCTMH® website, you’ll receive one My Reflections® Level 1 Scrapbooking Kit of your choice FREE!

There are 8 incredible kits to choose from, valued at $9.95 US/$10.95 CAN):

Oh, and did I mention that these Level 1 Kits are no longer available for purchase through CTMH? That’s right – you can only get them through this campaign. So hurry and order your favorite kit now, because these Level 1 Kits are available only while supplies last!